Guam- An internal audit from of the Guam Public School System's Personnel...(More)

Guam- An internal audit from of the Guam Public School System's Personnel Division has found wide ranging problems with the hiring and administration of GPSS Staff. According to the audit findings, because of the instability of top management, a chaotic environment exists in the Personnel Service Division. Leadership of the Personnel Service's Division of has changed hands five times during the last two and a half years. As a result Chief Auditor Lester Kuykendall found a lack of internal controls resulting in inaccurate staffing patterns; a lack of segregation of duties and the total number of payroll checks issued did not match the total number of employees. Kuykendall asked for a list of promotions from fiscal year 2006 to 2008 and the personnel division produced a list of only 24 promotions. However, the FSAIS disclosed 233 promotions. The result was an increase in payroll expenditures without proper justification. The audit also found a weakness in the evaluation and ranking of applicants and that the division did not consistently follow position qualifications when hireling staff. In addition the audit found that 3,370 personnel actions against current employees were not filed with the civil service commission in a timely manner, and that in violation of public law 29-02. Among the recommendations of the audit is that all personnel positions be established first in the staffing pattern and in the budget, before the position is filled. And to hold personnel supervisors accountable for any promotion that is not budgeted for. GPSS Superintendent Nerissa Bretania-Shafer is in Washington DC seeking federal assistance for the school system and was not available for comment.(Less)